Quartz Clock With No Battery

[Bert]

I have a Kelloggs Raisin Splitz quartz clock with alarm function. It's been in the loft for years. Obviously it's blank. I undid the back (held on by four of the smallest screws in the world!) to see what type of battery it had. There is no battery. It has two spring contacts to (presumably) two different metals on the back cover plate. It must work on the voltage between two different metals. I tried scratching the metals in the are of the contacts, but it still didn't work. Any ideas on how I might get it working? It's only a 'toy', but it would please me if I could get the display up again.

[douglas9401]

No chance the 'spring contacts' are actually there to hold the long forgotten battery, Bert?

[SlackAlice]

If I remember correctly it took an AAA battery between the spring contacts.

I might be wrong, I often am ☺☺☺.

[gingejbee]

I'm pretty sure that any voltage between different metals isn't going to run a clock...particularly one with an alarm, which will take a decent amount of power. I'm with answers one and two, above!

[HansUrbancka]

It will need a battery. See if you are able to measure the distance between the spring contacts to determine the size of battery; from the following list. :-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_battery_sizes#Common_battery_sizes

Hans.

[Bert]

Douglas, there is no chance that the springs are to hold a battery. There is no room for a battery of any sort. The back cover as a metal disc of more or less white metal in the centre about 1cm in diameter, around that there is a thin plastic (insulating) ring and that is surrounded by a ring (an annulus) of yellow metal. One of the springs, which are tiny, touches the centre disc, the other touches the yellow ring.
SlackAlice, the whole item is no bigger than two AAA batteries.
Hans, the distance between the springs is about 1 mm. There is no receptacle for a battery to fit into. Also see first paragraph.

[stuey]

Bert, can you post pictures of the back with the cover removed and the face of the clock?

[gingejbee]

No room for a battery of any sort? Not even a silver oxide watch battery....the size of a shirt button or a 1 penny piece?

[douglas9401]

I was thinking of a button battery, as used in watches. The positive facing down and the negative in contact with the two arms.
You haven't rediscovered free electricity from a bygone age unfortunately. :-)

[gingejbee]

....I'm not a betting person...but I think that this is a typical cheap digital display clock/alarm that requires a small watch-type battery...of which there are many, many sizes....all small!

[stuey]

We all eagerly await photos of this enigmatic time piece:)

[SlackAlice]

Thanks for the description, sounds like it may be a watch battery.

See, told you I might be wrong ☺☺☺

[Iggle Piggle]

Try holding a different types of fruit ! against the metal contacts and see if the display shows something ... as for the alarm function, you can get a decent amount of power out of fruit with the right metal combination ... Lead and acid starts your car !

[EDDIE51]

You have described a 'button cell' battery clock the smallest button cells as found in a small watch are only 2 or 3 mm across by 1.5 mm thick.

[stuey]

This is all supposition and conjecture (Which is, of course, why we have AB). However, we need photos of this clock in order to give, possibly, a definitive answer to the manner in which this clock works...Come on, Bert: photos.

[stuey]

Bert; any more information on this mystery clock?

[Bert]

How do I post a photo on Answerbank?
Sorry not to have been keeping up with this. I had a reply from Kellogg's saying they could not help.